CaribbeanBound

That's a very good value.

Cococay is certainly a bigger deal for Celebrity than it is for us. The main "con" is that Cococay will substitute for another island that would have been on the itinerary. This may be a positive for some travelers (esp families). Celebrity doesn't typically have a ton of kids onboard like RCI or Carnival, so families with young kids may very well get the entire kiddie play pool to themselves --- assuming no RCI ships are docking the same day, though short Caribbean itineraries do bring out the families on Celebrity. Given that Cococay is basically a "fixed expense" I'm surprised RCI didn't add Celebrity ships earlier to utilize the island more frequently. Celebrity isn't paying a docking fee like in most ports, and since they run the island, almost all passenger expenditures on the island accrue to RCI. It's a big win for them.

It's rather magical by ship to see the coasts of each island from the sea, especially if you have already explored the land.

That's the one. NCL Pride of America. The only cruise sailing 4 Hawaiian islands in 7 days year-round! At one time I thought they had a second ship. Might be confusing them with the pair of ships that left the Hawaii market before NCL arrived.

Yes, NCL has a couple of ships that do 7-day trips around the islands. Year-around.

We did the miner's museum on a budget via local bus.

Yes, we post a daily 8x10 picture to our door simply announcing which port we're in, as in "If it's Tuesday, we must be in St. John", etc. Helps up keep our days straight. Our neighbors seem to appreciate it as well. We use magnets to affix them to our door.

It was 10 years ago that we were last there (so prices listed below are from 2013). Saint John, New Brunswick (Bay of Fundy)8:00am - 4:00pm. We berthed at the Marco Polo Terminal (formerly known as the Pugsley Terminal), which is literally right in town and close to the Harbour Passage Walking Trail. Upon arrival, women were presented a rose and men were given a lapel pin souvenir.We prearranged for an Enterprise Rental Car and set out for the Village of St. Martins, about 45 minutes northeast of St. John. St. Martins, located on the Bay of Fundy, is a fishing village, home to two covered bridges, sea caves, and the gateway to the Fundy Trail. The Bay of Fundy tides are the highest tides in the world, rising and dropping as much as 47 feet. St. Martin's tides on Mac's Beach are a relatively pedestrian (but still amazing) 26-feet, rushing in and out of the bay twice a day. At low tide you can walk on the ocean floor. Mac's Beach is covered in smooth rocks, a result of the tidal action. It's also where you can find "Wish Rocks" --- a rock with a white line that encircles the entire rock. Local lore suggests that whomever possesses such a rock can make a wish. Once the wish comes true, you pay it forward and pass the rock on to someone else to make a wish. We arrived near low tide and could walk out into the rock-covered ocean bottom for a couple hundred yards without getting wet, and were able to collect a few cool "Wish Rocks".From here, we drove 10 minutes to the Fundy Trail Parkway. There is a small admission charge. Due to the extreme fog that day we opted out and returned to Mac's Beach in St. Martins to search for more Wish Rocks. With the tide coming in, more than half of our hunting ground remained. Within another hour, the beach shrank to a just a few feet of rocks on higher ground. The time between low and high tide is about 6 hours.We drove back to town and made a stop at Reversing Falls. It's really not a "falls" in the classic sense. It's really just rapids. The rapids occur when the rising tide coming in is fighting the out flowing river water. If you get there while the tide is rising you'll see the river water running inland from the ocean, which is quite an interesting sight.I'd like to make a quick shout-out to Enterprise. This was our most pleasant rental car experience ever. We were picked up at the pier, driven to their office about 5 minutes away, were promptly assisted by one of their young representatives and were in an upgraded car (at no additional charge) within another 5 minutes. The return was also prompt. We filled up with gas at a station a couple of blocks away, returned the car and were dropped off back at the pier.On our last trip, we walked to Reversing Falls along the Harbour Passage from the cruise area in about 50 minutes. Exit the pier and turn left. Follow the red sidewalk along Water Street until you see a Moose on your left. Turn left and walk towards, and then around along the boardwalk in front of, the Hilton. Once you clear the Hilton you'll see an entrance to the Harbour Passage with a sign overhead and the red sidewalk once again. Follow the riverside trail until it dead ends under a bridge, then backtrack a little and follow the red concrete trail to the road. (Ignore all of the other forks you encounter along the way). Turn left and stay on the sidewalk next to the highway all the rest of the way. Don't worry that they failed to paint this sidewalk red. You will eventually get to the Reversing Falls lookout which once again will feature a Harbour Passage sign overhead and a red walkway. Most folks continue from here and cross over the bridge to the other side of the river for more impressive views. There are two restaurants and one has a short movie you can view. There are a number of good lookout points as well as a dock for river tours. Across the parking lot is an elevated park with great views of the surrounding area. If you don't want to walk back, you can catch the #2 Bus back into town. Catch the bus at the corner of the parking lot, at the entrance, across from where the restaurants are. Bus fare is $2.50 pp and it runs every 20 minutes. The ride will take just 10 minutes. Get off at Barbours General Store, about 2 blocks from the ship.Back in town we visited the New Brunswick Museum ($8.00, AAA Gem) in market square. This family museum has dioramas of logging operations, intensive shipbuilding exhibits, artifacts recovered from sunken ships, art, whale and mastodon skeletons, a hall of stuffed birds, and children's discovery exhibits. Worthwhile.

Be sure to get an advance reservation. Just know there are lots of reasons you may not get to actually go out to the memorial (we failed the last two attempts). Once, a helicopter crashed into the harbor, which closed it. Most of the time it has to do with the weather. If the harbor is the least bit rough, it's a no-go. Nonetheless, there are lots of exhibits and a movie. It's very worthwhile. It just becomes more spiritual when you can get out to the memorial itself.

Yes, Celebrity is absolutely spamming us and it's not necessary. I wish they would stop. Just send me your best offer once a week and while that's more than I need, at least it's acceptable. The ONLY reason I haven't unsubscribed is the MoveUp offers and PowerUp.

You CAN also use OBC in the casino, but only the winnings can be cashed out.

You absolutely CAN use OBC for gratuities. Done it on over a dozen Celebrity cruises.

For international travel, we also just use a carry-on. It is amazing, we were able to pack enough to last us on a 16 day river cruise. We did our own laundry (underwear and socks) in the cabin sink (lol).

No experience, though my guess is that you could get off the ship earlier and start your hop on/hop off exploration sooner.

Harbor Pub & Pizza had "permanently closed" in 2020 during early covid. I was not aware it had reopened.

St. John New Brunswick... do a tour that include the Bay of Fundy.

That nightstand makes REALLY good sense!

@Parrottdizes Good mention. Totally forgot about the Kawaiaha'o Church, and next to that is the Mission House Museum which is mildly interesting.

Yes, Iolani palace is a very easy 5-block walk, maybe slightly uphill from the port. It's mostly shaded after the first two blocks. Be sure to get reservations in advance to assure an interior tour. I would consider it very safe from sunup to sundown and then some. You'll encounter the King Kamehameha statue just before crossing King Street to the Iolani Grounds. Behind the statue is judiciary/court building. There is a small, but good, museum inside. It's free, and air conditioned. On the other side of the Iolani Palace property is the Hawaii State Capitol building. It's also worth seeing. Punchbowl National Cemetary is straight uphill from there. You will not want to walk that. Just know that's what you're seeing up in front of you on the crater, or take an Uber. You can get within 3 blocks of the entrance by bus, but I don't recommend it for everyone (having done it twice).

Booked Turo once in Honoulu about 8 years ago. Went fine. You may wisht to take pictures of the exterior and interior of car in a well lit location before driving off so you can prove any dents and scratches that are on the car were already there.

Been on both. Like both. Prefer Celebrity. Totally agree, "the fast casual food options (things like Guy’s Burger, Blue Iguana, etc.) on Carnival are far superior to Celebrity". Wife not a fan of Carnival. She finds the ships way too noisy, with "constant blaring announcements" and "entertainment that has no place to set up so they end up blocking the hallways". We feel the MDR food and service is better. Celebrity seems to have a few "nice touches".

I agree Tours By Locals is a good choice. Note that Viator is NOT a tour operator. They are simply a consolidator of tours, meaning basically they price and sell them and take a commission. Nothing wrong with that. But if you prefer to book directly with the tour operator then google the Viator tour title and you'll usually find them pretty easily.

Totally agree. Yes, way too many emails as I'm getting 1-2 per DAY. Rediculous. Most are not useful or helpful. Agree they are spammy due to frequency and with lack of usefulness. Seriously, they are pushing me away. STOP!

You had a good roll "inside" Quincy Market, or at a bar nearby? I had my worst lobster roll experience at Quincy Market ever. I failed to notice that the menu read "Lobster Salad Roll". It was so full of filler, you couldn't find the lobster. Glad this didn't happen to you.

This question has been asked in several threads. I believe the concensis is "NO".