Stpatsirish

Re: San Juan city tour

We had not planned to do anything in San Juan but because our stop in Grand Turk and our excursion there was cancelled, we decided we needed to go on land that day. San Juan was a lovely surprise. We had not booked anything but while we were getting ready to look for some shopping we saw a lot of tour buses offering different tours - rain forest, kayaking, city tours, etc. All the tour operators were uniformed and explained their tours ahead of time, including price. We chose to do a 1 1/2 to 2 hour city tour, which took us through Old San Juan, stopping at the government building for photos, through new San Juan, past the Old Fort, stopping there for photos, to a lovely beach for a 15 minute photo stop, as well as stopping at a shopping area. Anyone wanting to get out at the shopping area could walk back to the ship on their own, as it was in sight, just at the end of the street. The guide was very informative and the cost was 20.00 each. I could not tell you the name of the company but all the tours seemed to be conducted by them and they were all wearing blue shirts.

For the poster asking about the shuttle for the Rodeway Inn, the free shuttle is to and from the cruise port and to and from the airport.

We did this cruise a couple of years ago, in reverse, during June. We originally booked a lanai and were given a free upgrade to a verandah. It was our 1st cruise and spoiled us. We will now only take a verandah! The weather was great most days and on that cruise you can see quite a bit from the verandah when you are travelling the St. Lawrence. It was worth it. Enjoy, no matter what you chose. And don't forget to give yourselves extra time in Montreal and Boston, both are fantastic cities!

Sorry, I should have mentioned the ship. She was in good shape and we had no issues. No long wait lines. Upkeep was good.

Here is a review of our cruise:

Pre cruise hotel – Rodeway Inn Fort Lauderdale - This was a bare bones, completely adequate hotel for our pre and post cruise stay. We were picked up at the airport, without issue, at 11pm night before our cruise. Clean room, good shower. Breakfast was included, buffet style and par for the course. We were delivered to the cruiseport, as promised, in the morning. I think our bus left shortly after 10am.

Embarkation – This went smoothly although there was a delay. There was an inspection that day so we were asked to go to the Lido deck and relax as our cabins were not ready. We tried out the new pizza, which was great, and met a few fellow travellers while we waited. We were in our cabin an unpacked before sail away which we enjoyed on our verandah. We had the pleasant surprise of flowers, champagne and chocolate strawberries when we arrived, thanks to my sisters in law and their families and enjoyed them during sail away.

Cabin – we had a verandah guarantee and were assigned 6052 about a week before we sailed. It was an accessible cabin and in a good spot, near the front elevators. We did not request an accessible cabin but having the large shower with a seat was helpful, as I am awaiting knee surgery. It had a larger balcony on an angle. We had great cabin stewards who did their job well and were unobtrusive. When we did need them they were prompt and helpful, particularly when my earrings were lost under the safe.

Meals – Most of our dinners were in the main dining room, with 2 dinners at Tamarind and the Pinnacle. All our meals were very good with the Tamarind being the standout meal of the trip. The only downside was our server, in the main dining room, who was neither friendly nor attentive. But Mr. van Horn, the Asst. Dining Room Manager made up for that, as he was funny and entertaining. Making gifts out of paper napkins and showing off his ESP abilities. We had a 6 top, early dining. We met 2 great couples, also from Canada, and thoroughly enjoyed their company. Sorry, but it was nice not having to discuss the US election at every meal. Our breakfasts were either in the dining room, ordered from room service (the old menu still) or in our Lido cabana. We are not fans of buffet dining so we did not eat there, except for the last morning and a couple of times that we grabbed a perfectly fine premade sandwich on the go. We found that very quick and handy. We also had the burger and hot dog from the Dive In. They were also very good.

Lido Cabana – This was our first cabana and we would certainly do this again. We splurged on this as we were gifted some of the excursions. I am glad we did, as one of our ports was cancelled and it meant we had 3 sea days. We liked the convenience of having our own place at the pool, with a table and chairs, 2 person lounger and a steward just for the cabanas. We had out breakfast there twice and lunch a few times, with Patrick making those arrangements for us. Every afternoon we received a glass of sparkling wine, chocolate covered strawberries and frozen grapes. The cabana was stocked with robes, towels, bottled water, Evian misters, fruit and ice. Patrick was amazing and very attentive.

Shows – we went to a couple of shows in the showroom – the magician/comedian Fred Moore and Synergy (electric violins). Both shows were entertaining and enjoyable. We spent an evening in the piano bar and an evening at BB Kings. We enjoyed both shows. We did not go to the movie theatre but did watch a movie in our cabin. We also went to the Marriage Game and another game I forgot the name of. The Marriage game fun and funny. The other game was forgettable. Our cruise director Carson was charming, funny and likeable.

Ports and excursions – As it was with the previous cruise this season, we missed Grand Turk due to high winds. Knowing this beforehand (that it was missed) I booked the Lido cabana as my backup plan so we had no issue with missing it. It was the weather’s fault, not HAL’s. We did get an alternate schedule for the day, adding more on board entertainment. The pools were very busy as well.

We stopped in San Juan and went into town, grabbing a city tour for 20.00. We also did some shopping for bottled water and snacks at Walgreens before going back to the ship.

The next stop was St. Maarten, where we had a tour booked with Bernard’s Tours to Maho Beach. The ship did not offer just a trip to the beach so we booked independently. We had a great few hours at the beach, having lunch and watching the planes at the airport. All aboard was 2:00 with sail away at 2:30. At 2:30 there were still 6 passengers missing. The captain announced that he would give them 15 more minutes. At 2:45 he announced that we would be delayed until 3 so that he could do the necessary paperwork to leave the last 2 passengers behind, which he did. We sailed away at 3 with no one running to catch the ship. Hopefully they heard the extra blasts he gave of the horn as we left them behind.

Our last stop was Half Moon Cay – what can I say – it was beautiful. My husband went horseback riding and we had a cabana booked there that we shared with a couple of our dinner mates. The cabana was supplied with fruit, pop, water, veggies, shrimp, chips, salsa, guacamole, table and chairs, fridge, ice, towels, table and chairs, loungers, air conditioning, a fan, shower, snorkelling equipment and floaters for the water. We brought a bottle of wine that we brought on board. It was a great day.

Disembarkation – this went very smoothly and we were picked up by the hotel, where we could check in early for a mere 20.00. They also took us to the airport the next morning.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I am sure I have forgotten something.

I was there last week. The large tenders could accommodate all three. I was not on the small one so I can't answer that.

As a Canadian I got the app through the Canadian iTunes and set up our passports, no problem.

Thanks for the info. We cruise on Sunday.

Thanks everyone!

Page 25. Tipping

Booked a couple of surprises for our anniversary and we will be all set with a plan B if any of our planned stops are missed. Now I just need to finish packing.

Have fun! We sail a week from tomorrow. I can't wait either!

As stated above, we have a VE guarantee on the NA sailing Nov. 6. We were assigned a V cabin today. It is an accessible room, which is fine with me as I could use a walk-in shower as I am having a knee replacement soon. It looks like it has an angled veranda which seems bigger.

I booked one for my upcoming cruise. I like to be by the pool but not out in the sun. I would like to have a private shady area where I can have all my stuff, eat lunch and still be where the action is. I can let you know when I get back whether I thought it was worth it. I have a verandah but certainly do not want to spend all my time there. Plus, I don't think they have 2 loungers on them.

I guess everyone needs to choose for themselves what they want to spend their money on.

We are on the NA in less than 2 weeks and are getting antsy. We are in a VE guarantee and I think everything left is an upgrade as well. We are not fussy about where it is on the ship either.

We are on the NA in 2 weeks. If we are on the same cruise we could switch cabanas. I am in Green, #10, near the washrooms.

We will leave her in good shape for you! We are doing the Eastern.

Yes they do. As carry on. I plan to do that on my NA Caribbean cruise in 2 weeks as well!

We are staying at the Rodeway Inn before and after in FLL. They offer day rooms as well as transfers from the airport and to the cruiseport. They also have breakfast. It looks like it is 59.99 for up to 4 people. Their website says 10:00 am to 6:00pm but it would not hurt to ask for that to be adjusted.

Hope this helps.

I found my answer. The 330.00 is per person for our 16 day cruise. At that price I will bring my own soda, as there are 3 of us and there is no way we would drink $1,000 dollars worth!

Everyone needs to decide what they want to spend their $$$ on and beverages are not it for me but I am sure it will be a good deal for others.

Another question: is the package for the room or per person? The package for 16 days is 330.00 on the Koningsdam. It doesn't say everyone in the cabin must purchase it, only that it must be for the duration of the trip.

Thank you all and the same right back at you! We did our big dinner yesterday as DD is a nurse and working today, so for me it is a nice relaxing day after!🦃

They were sold out a week ago for the Nov. 6 NA cruise.

Captain Stubing. Oh, wait, that's on princess.

I looked at their schedule online and they have dinner booked for Master Chef participants at 8:00 in the dining room. There was nothing else that looked like it would impact those of us not participating. Most activities were going on in the showroom during the day. There is a sail away at the Seaview pool and one night there was a one hour cocktail party at the Lido pool.