shellunderwater

If you paid $70 for the car and used $17 in gas that's $87. If there were only 2 of you that is a lot of money for the short distance that you travelled. If you went to Marigot by taxi it would be about $20 and then $20 to Orient/Le Gallion and then $16 to get back to the port. So even with tips that's about $67 so you may have been better off going by taxi's. If there was more than 2 of you then renting might have been cheaper. It's nice to have the freedom of having a car but you also take the risk of fender benders or damage and the cost and hassles of this or if someone breaks into the vehicle and also you have to watch alcohol consumption as well.

 

Thanks for posting about your experience and I'm glad you had a really nice day.:)

Well, I apologize to the OP. Meant this as a separate thread. May try to fix it when I can log in again on a PC. Know that I didn't write this seeking anyone's approval. We rented for our reasons and believe we had a good time.

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Just off the Oasis.... Not sure if they were on the menu, but they were available upon request on 4 nights. I had them a couple of times, table-mates had them 4 times. We were in 150 Central Park and Giovanni's, so can't say about those nights.

Arrived on the Oasis of the Seas with a total of 6 ships in port. Had a reservation for a Corolla-sized car with Hertz. Follow the signs in the port to the car rentals, very easy to find. You fill out the paperwork at the port, then they drive you to a building to pick up your car. They were very nice and easy to work with. We got a GPS with the car, and it was programmed with the locations of just about everything. One thing we couldn't find on the GPS was LeGalion Beach. But, we used their map to get there from Orient Beach (about a mile down the road), so it was very easy.

We drove over the hill to Marigot to go to the market. By the time we got there, the only parking to be had was probably 10 - 15 minutes from the market. We decided to just skip it. But, know the traffic was bad.

We used the GPS to take us over to Orient Beach. Got out of the car and walked out onto the beach. The waves were really rough, but in fairness, the ocean was incredibly rough during the cruise, so this makes sense. We decided to go to LeGalion instead.

Galion was so much smoother. There are reefs off-shore that break the waves before they reach shore. There is a building with restrooms, gift shop, chair and umbrella rental and food. There is also an area of floats that creates a swimming area. Not sure what its for, maybe for kids. We didn't use it, since it was at that far end of the beach.

Food was good/average. Had grilled chicken and grilled mahi meals. Not bad food. Beers were about $4 -5, after conversion to USD. Food, drink ( 2 beers and a soda) and rentals (2 chairs and umbrella) were $70, cash only. No cards accepted.

Note, this is a beach that permits topless sunbathing. There were a few folks doing this. No one seemed to mind, and they didn't make a big deal about it. It is permitted anywhere on the French side, I believe.

Easy drive back to the port with the rental. There is a gas station just outside the port area. Make sure it gets filled up. They Hertz guy gave me a bit of grief since it was about 1/16 under full. But, I used the full service at SOL. Used $17 USD for the day. But, maybe it needed $20, since it wasn't quite full.

Overall a nice day. We only did some shopping in the port area, not in town.

Arrived in Crown Bay and caught a taxi to Magen's Bay. The taxi process was extremely easy. Follow the signs out of the port to the taxis. Yeah, they are really just pickup trucks with the beds converted to seats. The stated cost for the trip as $12.

The taxis go over a pretty steep hill, which was an experience. But, it allows for some fantastic views on the way up and down the hill.

Arrival at Magen's Bay requires a $4 per person entry fee. The taxi driver let us off at the building, which includes chair and water float rentals, gift shop, food stand and bar areas. The taxi driver only charged us $10 per person for the trip. Not sure if this is normal or not. Paid $10 for the ride back too.

Rented chairs (have to pay a refundable deposit) and dragged them into a spot of our choice under some trees for shade. Lots of space out in the sun or in the shade.

Something I thought of interest, Magen's Bay had lifeguards on duty during our day there.

Water entry is nice, with a pretty good step down just into the water. Mostly, the beach is nice soft sand, but there are some shells, etc at the "ledge" in the water. Otherwise, its a very nice beach.

Food was burgers, pizza, hot dogs, fried chicken, french fries, etc. Not really anything on the menu that I would consider local. But food was pretty decent, incredibly average. Nothing wrong with the food. Burgers were $8 - 10, fries $4 (large), cans of soda $2.50, beers were $3 - 5 (I think). Minimum charge card transaction is $15.

The ocean was rather rough on the cruise, but the beach just had nice little waves most of the day. It got a bit rougher as the day wore on, but a storm was kicking things up just before we were leaving. Still, it wasn't rough.

Very nice day, very nice beach.

Overall, for two people

taxi - $40

rentals (we rented floats too) - $30

food - $35

No alcohol drinks for us on this stop.

Stayed here on a recent cruise out of Port Everglades.

Free shuttle from FLL to the hotel. Just called them, and they were there in a few minutes.

The hotel, overall is a typical Hampton Inn. But, don't get stuck in the two rooms above the lobby on the balcony/hallway. You hear EVERY noise in the lobby. We had to ask the front desk three times (10, 11:30 and 12:30) to have them keep the noise down. At one point, there was a group of 12 partying it up.

We ate dinner at Slackers across the street. Good, average bar food. Nice beer selection, burgers, fries, etc. Not what I would consider to be much of a south Florida menu. Maybe the Smoked Fish Dip, but that's about it. Not fine dining, but good decent food, decent service and the location was right.

Shopped at the Publix near Slackers for wine for the ship. Also, there is a liquor store in the strip mall with Publix and Slackers.

Hotel has a free scheduled shuttle to the port, was very easy to get there.

Overall, an ok stay, with many pluses, and a big minus.

There's no set time that reservations open. Our experience was that excursions opened up about 4 months before the cruise and show reservations opened up between 2 and 3 months before the cruise. All I can suggest is to start looking at Royal's website about 4 months before the cruise.

And, go to your cruise roll call. When it opens around the time Bob mentioned, others will start posting about it.

Mine opened earlier than expected and I learned about it from the roll call.

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Thanks guys for your balanced comments.

The cruise we had to cancel last year was cancelled 32 days prior to sailing

which entitled us to a 50% refund . We had insurance but no cancellation cover.

In asking for FCLs we thought we were doing the right thing as we wanted to cruise as soon as we possible could.

I am not complaining about what we lost in cancellation fees.

Just cant fathom how this can be deemed a complimentary cruise as stated we could have received a cash refund, and paid for this cruise 7Th Dec in cash and be entitled to the C&A points.

I have gone to the top with the C&A society and their reply was they cannot reverse any decision that comes out of Miami , hmm.

The guys here in Australia have been pretty good and have referred it to customer service, awaiting their reply will advise hopefully a positive outcome

Rob

Ok... a little clarity goes a long way. Yep, I would agree you should get points. They gave you the credits you deserved, so since you paid for those credits snd they weren't "a gift", you should get full points.

Time to move up the food chain.

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If this is the case and they won't issue the full C&A points then I would push for a pro- rated number of points based on the cash portion that you actually paid.

Not saying technically right or wrong, but on the balance, I would tend to agree that you aren't entitled to more than pro-rated points.

But, then again, if you cancelled the original cruise after making final payment and RCCL is under no obligation to give you any refund, but chose to give you about half towards a future cruise.... I would tend to count my blessings and not complain too much.

Maybe this is an issue of "Hey, you were really nice to me before, now I want you to be even nicer." Not sure thats reasonable. Consider how nice RCCL has been before you throw them under the bus too far.

Will be interested in hearing results of this.

headed to the Allure soon. Jamaica, Haiti, Cozimil..... suggestions on what to do? Where to shop? Cigar shops?

Cozumel (or Cozimil) Bar Hop. Great time.

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It is in 2013.

 

Thanks for the info!

Thanks for the correction. I hate typing on a phone.

The 10/12/2014 sailing of Oasis has these discounts right now for most balconies and a few ocean view and inside. FYI.

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Does any one know how much a typical discount is and if there are particular cruises or times they offer this discount. Haven't seen it on any cruises, so just wondering if I should keep looking.

Thanks for your help.

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So glad to read great things about this program. We are signed up for a tour in November, and we are REALLY looking forward to it. I want to eat in a "local" place, not a tourist trap. No better way to learn about a culture than what I read about this program.

Thanks for the information.

Excellent Review!

Wifey wants to hit the markets at Marigot, and we want a nice quite relaxing beach like LaGalion Beach. No Maho for us, she works near an airport and planes fly over all the time.

I think we'll use all that you've provided as a basis for Marigot and LaGalion Beach trip.

Thanks!

Yes, definitely recommend the Cozumel Bar Hop. And, when they tell you where to get the ceviche, believe them. It was amazing.