hishorselover

Hi! I am trying to plan out our day (myself, husband and 18 year old son) and am having difficulty. Our ideal day would look like this: Swim with dolphins at Dolphin Discovery, visit Brimstone Hill Fortress, Timothy Hill and either Amazing Grace Experience/Beach/Shopping. I can't find a "tour" that offers all of these. I have contacted Beulah Mills several times and only get a generic email back. Can anyone suggest how to go about making this day happen if it is possible???

Hi. Does anyone have any insight into booking private excursions (meaning not booked through the cruise line but not necessarily "private")? It's so frustrating to fill out the online booking forms and then never be contacted.

Brimstone Hill Fortress is a nice stop. Check out Thenfordgreytours.com. We are considering booking with them for their Grand Island Tour. I don't know anything about them though.

Thanks Joshua! Loved your video! I do think this is the route we want to take. My husband is not a "hang out at the beach" all day kind of person so I'm struggling to figure this day out. Swimming with the turtles is must. Who knows...he just may enjoy it since the water there is vastly different from our NH coastline!

This would be like only taking a copy of your drivers' license with you and leaving the original in the safe. There is no point in having a passport if you don't take it with you off the ship. If the ship leaves without you for whatever reason and your passport is on the ship, it will not help you at all. We have taken ours with us for years and have never had a problem. We now use them for IDs on domestic flights instead of DL, it's just easier.

Thanks Amy. Of course this makes perfect sense! Now that you have jogged my memory I remember we left copies in the safe just in case we lost the actual Passport.

How easy/difficult is it to catch a taxi from the airport to Carnival Cruise Terminal? Also, about how much would it cost for 3 people each with a carry on and a suitcase? Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Swimming with the turtles is a must for this trip. My sister and I did this with a private vendor off Carlisle Bay a few years ago but I am looking for more activities since I am traveling with my husband and son this time.

Hi. We will be visiting Barbados in May on my son's 18th birthday. I think I've finally settled on spending the day at the Boatyard. Am I correct that there is no way to reserve a spot in advance? So we would just take a taxi and arrive at The Boatyard and pay then?

What would you recommend for a 17 year old boy? Would dress pants and a collared shirt (whether a dress shirt or even a polo shirt) be acceptable?

We have decided to go ahead and get passports for my husband and son. I guess I'm just not that much of a risk taker after all! Can someone advise on whether or not to leave/carry the originals versus copies? I can't remember if it's better to leave the original in the safe on the ship and carry copies or vice versa?

I think your situation is "best of both worlds". For "minimum age = 18" restrictions ( club, casino), I believe he will be allowed once he is actually 18. For "maximum age = 17" restrictions ( kids club) he will be considered 17 for the entire week.

You're probably right! I'm wondering how they will handles the Bottomless Bubbles - if they will charge us one rate for the duration? Or will they change it halfway through? Not that it really matters.

Hi. My question is in regard to Carnival's age policy. My son will turn 18 midway through our trip. Will Carnival consider him to be 17 for the duration since he will be that age when we board? Or is this a non-issue?

We went to both. Stopped at Maho on our way to the boat for Pinel.

Hi! Can you please tell me the details of your day? I contacted Bernard but they don't offer the Pinel/Maho excursion any longer. He said there was too much time spent in traffic. When my sister and I went a few years ago we took a taxi to a place where we rented kayaks. I don't remember what it was called - it was just a little stand on the beach. We spent the morning/early afternoon on Pinel, kayaked back and took a taxi to Maho. We only spent about an hour there which was plenty of time. Then grabbed a taxi back to the ship. I'm trying to figure out if this is the best option and what I should expect to pay. There are 3 in our group. I should add that I would love to find a tour that offers both so I don't have to do the worrying about transportation and timing but I can't seem to find this. Thanks!

Hi! I am hoping someone can help with our St Martin day. We will be on the island on a Saturday. Kayaking to Pinel Island and visiting Maho Beach are MUST's. I know it is possible to do both because my sister and I did just this a few years back. Does anyone have any tips and costs of transportation? We are planning to rent kayaks from Caribbean Paddling - haven't decided if we are using their transportation or not (depends on whether or not they will bring us back to the ship early enough to then taxi to Maho for an hour or so). From what I read it is about a 30 minute taxi ride to Caribbean Paddling location. Any thoughts on what this would cost? Then we would also need a taxi to go from there to Maho and then return to the ship. On average, how long does it take to go from Maho Beach to the cruise terminal? If I remember correctly, my sister and I kayaked to Pinel Island and stayed there until around 12:00-12:30 then headed over to Maho for an hour or two and arrived back at the cruise terminal with time to spare. Any tips??

I just booked this ship for August. My research so far has everyone saying FTTF is not worth it at all. I'm planning on flying in the day/night before. Not seeing a lot of good flight times. Also on the return flight I'm planning leaves at about 11:30. It was the only good option. I cruised Valor out of San Juan a few years ago and I recall we were at the airport much earlier than we expected.

Same here. Our flight out will be at 11:40. It's too bad they only offer one or two "good" flights. My sister and I cruised this itinerary a few years ago. Our flight was for around 2:00. We arrived at the airport around 9:00 and sat there for HOURS.

However, if you book the earlier flight, definitely plan to handle your own luggage!

I had questioned the need for a passport as well. Everyone has a different opinion. The only reason you will need one is if for any reason you have to fly off one of the island (if you miss the ship, you have an emergency, the ship has issues and can't leave port). I am still thinking about whether or not to get one for my husband and son. I probably will. I feel it's one of those situations that if you have it you don't need to worry and if you don't have it then you'll need to really worry!

Cab fare should be about $5 each, or you can walk it in about 15-20+ minutes.

 

Getting a cab back should not be an issue - they are waiting at most of the popular beach clubs, including Lobster Alive and Harbor Lights.

 

We used the beach vendor to snorkel and then swim with the turtles in Feb; the Boatyard Beach Club now includes a boat trip out to swim with the turtles in it's admission fee ($20 gets you turtles, a chair/umbrella, free drink, and a ride back to the port :cool:).

Thank you for your feedback JohninCD. So, in your opinion, it should be manageable to do both of these activities? We used a vendor at Carlisle Bay as well. I remember the boat didn't go very far off shore so I imagine that if we only have an hour or so to snorkel it wouldn't be a problem. I'm trying to find a couple of fun things to do that day because it will be my son's 18th birthday :) It sounds like the boatyard might be a better choice than Carlisle Bay since I'm pretty sure my sister and I paid $20 each just for the snorkeling/swimming with turtles. So, in your experience, the vendors are active all day? Not just in the morning? Thanks so much!

Hi everyone. We will be in Barbados in May. I am thinking about booking an excursion to Harrison's Cave through Glory Tours for the morning and am looking for information on hitting Carlisle Bay in the afternoon. How long is the taxi ride to Carlisle Bay and how much does it cost? Also, are there still vendors offering snorkeling and swimming with the sea turtles in the afternoon? Is it easy to get a taxi back to the ship in the afternoon? I don't know if trying to get two things into one day is too much.

Hi. I am thinking about visiting Harrison's Cave (booking the tour through Glory Tours). Their website says return back to the ship is between 1:00 and 1:30. We would also like to visit Carlisle Bay. I did this a few years ago with my sister and we had a great time swimming with the turtles. Is it possible to do both of these things in one day? I'm think we could get to Carlisle Bay by 2:00 and stay until about 4:00 leaving us plenty of time to get back to the ship for 5:00. Thoughts?

Thanks for all the input everybody! Honestly, I do NOT see us traveling again in the near future. It took a lot of effort to convince my husband to go on this trip. Although.....I'm sure he'll be hooked once he experiences it!! Just to clarify, are you saying that if we needed to fly back to the states from, for example, St. Kitts or Barbados, we would not be able to do this with a Passport Card? Most likely I will just have them get the book but would prefer not to spend the money if it isn't necessary. However....should we fall in love with a particular island and want to return, they would need the book anyway. Something to consider....

My husband, son and I are cruising on Fascination out of San Juan in May. They are planning to get passports for this trip only (I already have mine). I have read that for US Citizens to travel to the Caribbean a Passport Card is sufficient rather than a Passport Book. I know that technically we don't even need a Passport for this trip however I prefer the reassurance of having Passports with us. Can anyone confirm with me that the Passport Cards would be sufficient proof of residency should an emergency arise? Thanks in advance! PS...I would prefer the Card due to lower cost and the fact that we never intend to travel anywhere other than possibly Canada after this trip.

This is interesting. I was under the impression that Carnival requires a passport in case of the unforeseeable need to fly out from one of the ports (due to illness, ship trouble, etc..). We are going out of San Juan on Fascination next May...going to St. Thomas, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Martin, ending back in San Juan. My husband and son do not have passports but were planning to get them. Will they not need a passport?

I would prefer the earlier flight because landing back home at 9:00 then having a 45 minute drive home combined with my husband needing to be back at work at 6:00 am the next day....unfortunately his PTO is not flexible, he has to take a week at time. If would be fantastic if you could get a direct flight later in the day, not just in the morning. I guess this is what I meat by the airlines catering to cruisers a little more....

Honolulu Blue...your PS made me laugh. I realize that Puerto Rico is part of the United States...I just said that to indicate a domestic flight vs international. I guess I could have just said that! :)

I wouldn't say I'm well aware that I might not make it. My experience was that we made it with a TON of time to spare and I'm wondering if this is the norm. I know Carnival will say not to book before noon but I'm sure this is to cover themselves as well. I'm not looking for someone to say...."sure, you'll have no problem". I guess what I'm looking for is what MOST people experience. The issues with the later flights is that a one hour difference taking off becomes 5 hours later landing and hundreds of dollars more.