Lisa0719

I have cruised the Miracle from NYC and now Splendor about 8 times and know many of the officers. I talked to Nickos the Hotel Director and Joan the Food and Beverage manager about it.

I also was on this cruise, 8 family members traveling together. With three first timers in our group, I warned them that usually, out of NYC at this time of the year, we have rough seas. To my surprise, I found this sailing to be quite calm. It was windy but the sea were not rough as I was expecting.

We had a good trip. We ate in the dinning room every night and we had a fabulous team of waiters..very entertaining! We were always the last ones to leave the dining room. We had late seating.

In Florida, we went to Cocoa Beach.

In Nassau, walked around the shops then went to Atlantis to walk around.

In Freeport, we went to the beach at Grand Lucayan resort. $15.

The casino was good to us...we didn't lose any money, everyday play, came out on top.

We won at the first bingo game. Good start to the vacation.

We departed late from Freeport. Watched many official people waiting on the Pier, saw an ambulance then go. Then a white mini van came and a person was taken from the ship on a gurney with luggage and put in back of mini van. I don't know what happened. I thought we were waiting for late passengers.

I have done this itinerary, or the same islands many times. I've done fun excursions in Nassau in the last year. I often stay on board in Florida and I love Grand Lucayan resort in Freeport.

~Jo~

I too was on this sailing . . . We were originally waiting for passengers but they also had a sick crew member that required immediate medical attention. Carnival had arranged for crew member to be air lifted to Fort Lauderdale. The original ambulance would not take the patient to the airlift that was waiting. They would only go to the hospital. So Carnival called a mini-van taxi to take to the airport to be airlifted to FLL. I checked later and the crew member was stablized and doing well.

I totally respect the OP posting and opinion. We have been on over 30+ cruises with many out of NYC at difference times of year and know what to expect.

I'm not cruising until January but I just looked and you can find them on ebay. Wishing your mother the best of luck with her battle.

Thanks everyone. I emailed Carnival and it was an email response. Here is it:

 

Guests are prohibited from bringing alcoholic beverages onboard (any hard liquor such as gin, vodka, rum, etc.). However, on embarkation day, guests (21 years and older only) may bring one bottle (750 milliliter) of wine or champagne per person, only in their carry-on luggage. A $10 corkage fee per bottle will be charged should the guest wish to consume this wine in the dining room or a $14 corkage fee per bottle in the Steakhouse. (A corkage fee is a charge exacted at a restaurant for every bottle of wine/champagne served that was not purchased via Bon Voyage or from the wine menu on board the ship.)

On embarkation day, each guest may bring a small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages on board and only in their carry-on luggage. A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened bottles and/or cans, 20 ounces each or less.

The above is per sailing, and you cannot double up on cruise one because it is a back to back cruise. Customs still views these as two separate cruises.

 

It doesn't make sense. It's not like I'm trying to cheat the system. Oh well, I'm going to bring all 4 bottles and I'm sure it'll be fine. Thanks for the insight.

What does customs have to do with embarkation? Isn't it Carnival policy, not customs that dictates this?

I don't like it. Not as easy for to get to my saved cruises.

We used cave tubing dot bz and had a GREAT DAY ! :) That said .. we loved it because we were somewhat prepared!

 

First off.. as been mentioned,, it is a long drive to the caves... so keep in mind you want to have fun on the bus! :p ask questions, get guides to tell you jokes, I found they will adjust to what the people want,, so if you want a long trip.. sit back and be quiet! .. we really enjoyed our bus ride for a couple reasons...

 

We got off the ship on the "first" tender! .. I think this is very important... find a way to tender as soon as you can! not to sound rushed.. but getting ahead of the crowd makes this event very relaxing! no line ups for stuff..

 

We had a bus load... and we all left on the same tender for the same bus so we were the very first vehicle to leave the port for the caves... the bus held about 12, so we had 2 guides..

 

some folks got to other buses .. and had to wait for others coming on later tenders... waiting isn't bad.. but it is more fun getting to the caves first!

 

The Lunch stop with dot BZ has washrooms... so if you can't make it to the cave facilities,, they can make a pit stop at their "restaurant" ... where you will come back to for lunch and rum punch!! Don't be shy! At lunch..if you want seconds,, they will give you more Punch! .. lol,, or the meat that "tastes like chicken" lol ... salad...etc.

 

while on our bus.. there was a lot of conversation about natural Belize, and the Mayan culture,, your guides are Mayan... this conversation made the trip go very fast!

 

at the caves,, there is facilities to shower, change , pee, here is where you get your tube, helmet, and vest,,, change into your bathing suit.. and grab your waterproof camera.. I used a GoPro with a chest mount.... worked great!

 

Now... you have to walk to the start.. carry the tube.. so you will pass the finish.. where you have to cross the river,, take a minute to swim and see the area! Look for wildlife... we saw huge spiders, and many ants... and birds..

 

on the trail , you go thru a dry cave , and can see the formations of rock !

 

walking on the trail is pretty easy,, but we had a lady who really wasn't as able as she thought,, and she had wrong shoes on ... the guides carried her tube, and helped your navigate the path...

overweight ? out of shape? .. test yourself at home... do a gentle 2km walk.. on gravel with water shoes...

 

What is the correct shoe??? well.. I dunno. I wore sandals that have full harness and a thick sole, so they work well walking on the sharp stones, and pretty good swimming with them on...

water shoes are avail when you arrive,, but I find they have thin soles, and you can feel the sharp stones. ... and I don't like renting something I already have.. so if you have your own water shoes.. or sandals.. take them with you.

 

you can leave all your stuff in your bus... so you fancy shoes, and dry clothes, and dry towel... camera,, money,, what ever you don't want to get wet...

 

watch your step... you don't want to stub a toe.. or twist an ankle ! have fun.. stay safe!

 

when you get to the dock to get in the tube,,, know if you want to be first in, or last in,, or beside your spouse... I chose first in.. with my wife behind me.. a friend was beside me . They clicked our tubes together 2 wide, 6 or 8 deep... as a raft of people!

 

it isn't a big rush .. but it works so well when people sort of know up front if they are fussy..where they want to sit. I don't think there is a better spot in the line.. maybe the middle is.. cause it is easy to talk to others ... up front is hard to turn around to talk .... but I liked it up front.. Call shotgun and see if you get the front row! lol Pictures from up front show people faces..

 

The caves are cool ! you have a headlight to see in the darkness... if you get in first, and up front... half way thru ..take a look back and just see how many headlights are behind you. !

 

The guides will tell you about formations ,, and where to look,,, so listen and get them to yell if need be... or they might move to the side of the raft... instead of the front or the rear... so more people can hear their descriptive narrative

 

Give your guide your camera to take some pictures of the whole group...

take some underwater movies, and pictures..

 

When you are done at the caves... the quicker you get rid of the tubes and gear,, the quicker you get dressed,, the quicker you get to the rum punch!! lol... don't rush! .. but keep that in mind..

 

the facilities to wash, dry, change into street clothes.. and the scenery around them... take time to take pictures,, and enjoy.!

 

You can do some swimming at the finish line again.. look around at the scenery..

 

We found the "restaurant" at lunch to be a bit understaffed! .. not a complaint.. I just wanted Rum Punch faster than they could cater to all the people........ but they were very receptive to folks helping ... so I became a waiter for a few minutes... cleaned up some plates,, poured some more punch .... as the guides where getting full plates from the kitchen!

 

they keep a keen eye on the time, so they make sure they get you back to the ship on time,, and will fill in with short tours of the city if you ask... if they have time...

 

I found cave tubing dot BZ to be GREAT ! and I have some experience with things going wrong on tours... ie..others health issues.. injuries... and some guides will give you lip service about training , and safety, and when it comes down to a situation.. they freeze.. don't react professionally.... I haven't seen cave tubing dot BZ in action personally... but my short conversations with them give me extreme confidence in their ability! ... check out their website,, they are proud of their training for injuries.. they understand that an injury is a big problem as they are not close to help... they are prepared to take care of the problem,, and practise ! That makes it second nature to understand how to prevent a situation.. and how to take care of it if it does happen..

 

every bit of their tour,, from booking up front... where they gave us a group discount as we used one member of our roll call to book ... to the friendly guides, that knew how to deal with traffic, and check points, the vehicles are comfy... the food, did I tell you about the Rum Punch! lol... I took a "to go" cup when we left the restaurant for the ride back :eek: didn't get caught! :D

What a fabulous summary/review/input . . . I agree 100% . . . we have cave tubed twice in Belize and both times had a fabulous time.

The only thing I would add is to take time at the end to jump off the cliff if you are so inclined!!!!

I did a test try on my Splendor cruise last week. It was so slow and many times would freeze when I only had a word or two written. I was working from my ipad though. All week I was going to try the computer at the internet cafe to see if it was any better but I never got there.

I would write an email with the documentation and send it to guestadmin@carnival.com or guestsolutionssupport@carnival.com . . .

We sailed right after you. Captain told us it was the first time in 17 years they couldn't dock in Nassau . . . ship was going to hit shore and tug boats weren't helping.

The lovely Mrs. Jones just off B2B "Sunshine", and got Tervis Tumblers for both cruises. One with a Blue Top, (The Usual) and one with a RED TOP!

 

"SKY"

Off Splendor on Sunday and received a RED TOP Tervis (also a blue one) . . . I was so excited about the RED Top!!!

There are also plenty of tables on LIDO under the overhang, but outdoors, both aft and mid-ship. I see lots of folks playing cards or other games there. You are outdoors but have cover from the sun.

Hi we are going on Splendor this sat. and wanted to know a little more about the rough sea conditions. My son gets sea sick sometimes so would you recommend that he take something for that? Was it rough the first two days? I read somewhere on this site that it is usually pretty rocky sailing from NY. Any thoughts?? Thanks in advance.

We will be leaving with you on Saturday . . . I always have Meclazine (motion sickness .. I buy the Walgreens or CVS generic) . . . my dr says it's harmless so if we think it will be extra rough we take it . . . we have never been sea sick on a cruise ship. Usually I feel the roughness the last sea day back . . . not so much going down because they make a lot of progress during the night on the first night . . .

The Captain told us they do this itinerary from Nov to April because of the rough sea and chance of not getting further south, so I would go prepared but not be over anxious . . .

Really only have to worry about first sea day down and last sea day back . . . they have tons of trivia, beanbag, dodgeball, movies on big screen, music of all kinds . . . we never have problems finding something to do even when its too cool to sit outside.

look at it as an 8 day cruise to no where . . . still so worth it . . . Cruised on Miracle same itin last year on Jan 1 . . . . wonderful!!!!

Well this is probably a complete opposite response than most....we drink beer also...and on all 7 trips to Nassau ...we walk to the street one street behind the main one....lots of shops back there...and you can walk in and buy a beer .... really cheap...a couple of dollars...they put it in a brown paper bag and we walk around and drink it and then go back for another.....I am going back to Nassau on the 16th.....my husband died of a massive heart attack (no sickness at all before then) he had it on September 9th and died on the 10th.......and my plans include having at least a beer for me and one for him when we are in Nassau.

We will be in Nassau on the 13th on the Splendor . . . we will have a beer to honor your husband!

What ship what port? Baltimore they will take it away-- no doubt the rudest port people ever. Europe they just pass you thu no matter how much you bring the same for Canada--West coast depend on the day.

Funny, I was thinking NYC would ask why aren't you bringing more? . . .

Hi - do you recommend taking bottled water on board? Someone mentioned that the water on board smells funny. Thanks

Was on Splendor in Sept and Oct and will be next Saturday. I drink the water all the time . . . no issues for me.

I believe it is $259 for two for the 8 days. $149 for one. I've only ever used it with spa cabin, so I might be off, but not by too much.

Loving your review. Congratulations to Amanda. My son is a recovering addict so I understand the struggles. He has been sober for almost 4 years.

We will be on the Splendor on Saturday. I can not wait!!!

What a great prelude for our Splendor cruise in just 9 days. I've enjoyed every moment of your review.

Loving the review . . . ship to shore, shore to ship . . . very cute!!!!

My sister and I are on Splendor on 9/14..... loving your review... can't wait for

for our first "sisters" cruise :)

you should come join our roll call

Loving your review. We leave in 3 weeks. We've also sailed out of New York over 10 times, but as you said, it never gets old and we always take the same pictures!!!! We live in Bucks County, PA so the port is so convenient.

Can you only see My Billing if you book direct. I book thru a TA and show nothing in My Billing . . .

All breakfasts (port days & debarkation day) and brunch (sea days only) will be open seating in the Gold Pearl dining room.