7 day Eastern Caribbean out of Miami

[bitofun]

Okay, I know it's quite a ways off, but just booked the next cruise 714 days from now. The itinerary is Half Moon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan, and Grand Turk. My sister and I already know exactly what we want to do at Half Moon Cay and Grand Turk, but we're looking for some ideas for St. Thomas and San Juan. As of right now the schedule shows St. Thomas 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM and San Juan 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

 

Also any input anyone can offer for the Conquest would be greatly appreciated. We booked a premium balcony 7434 Empress deck. Would love to hear from anyone who has sailed in this cabin.

 

My sister flies in from Colorado and I fly in from Kansas. Last cruise, the best air rates we found flew us into Fort Lauderdale, but then we got great rates to fly out of Miami. We're hoping to fly into Miami this next time, flying in the day before, so if anyone has recommendations for 1 night stay that has shuttle from airport and shuttle to cruise port, and included breakfast would be a great plus ;).

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

Pat

[ready2cruzagain]

:eek::eek:My last Carnival cruise I booked at 522 days out and that took forever! Didn't know you could book 714 days out!

 

Decided after that, that I would never book that far in advance because ended up booking two cruises in between because it was taking too long to get here lol.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[JohninDC]

My sister flies in from Colorado and I fly in from Kansas. Last cruise, the best air rates we found flew us into Fort Lauderdale, but then we got great rates to fly out of Miami. We're hoping to fly into Miami this next time, flying in the day before, so if anyone has recommendations for 1 night stay that has shuttle from airport and shuttle to cruise port, and included breakfast would be a great plus ;).

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

Pat

 

Sort of depends upon what time you arrive and what you want - none of the downtown Miami (close to POM) offer airport shuttles - taxi from MIA to most downtown hotels will run about $25-26+tip; another $10-12+tip cab will get you to POM the next morning.

 

If you are arriving late and just want dinner and a night's sleep then there are lots of hotels near MIA that offer free airport shuttles. A few of the budget places (La Quinta East and Comfort Suites North) include "free" shuttles to POM. Better hotels with shopping and dining options nearby can be found in the Blue Lagoon area near MIA (Hampton Inn, Homewood Suites and others). Most Blue Lagoon hotels can arrange for a shared shuttles to POM for about $10 per person.

 

Good luck! :)

[serene56]

here is the port of calls boards-- lots of information there

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5

[bitofun]

:eek::eek:My last Carnival cruise I booked at 522 days out and that took forever! Didn't know you could book 714 days out!

 

Decided after that, that I would never book that far in advance because ended up booking two cruises in between because it was taking too long to get here lol.

 

Have fun on your cruise!

 

I too was surprised to find we could actually book a cruise this far out. My sister and I had already picked late April, 2015 for our next "Sisters Cruise" as we both have families of our own and other vacation plans with them in the meantime. Having just finished a cruise that included Half Moon and Grand Turk and knowing that we really wanted those two ports included in our next cruise we knew exactly how to search. Lo and behold, this itinerary pops up. Also, since we decided we would like to book in the premium balcony category, we decided to do it while pretty much every cabin was available. Since these "Sisters Cruises" are in addition to regularly scheduled family vacations, we have also found booking them a substantial amount of time prior to sail date makes it quite easy to pay off the balance making low monthly (interest free) payments. ;)

 

Granted, we do tend to drive our families crazy with our incessant talk and planning about our cruises :)

 

My sister and I love to cruise, but our husbands don't think they have an interest in cruises. So now we feel fortunate enough to be able to take both kinds of vacations. :D

 

We booked our second cruise more than 400 days out. For us, when the time arrived for the cruise, it really didn't feel like it was over a year of planning. For us, makes it seem even more special when the time finally arrived :)

 

I know we will have an even better time than the last!!!

[serene56]

are you aware the beds in 7434 do not go apart

[bmckim]

We stayed in 7434 on the Glory which is the same room. It is great, you will love it. The balcony is so huge!

 

St. Thomas and San Juan are both great ports to walk around in. In St. Thomas, the Skyride to the top of Paradise Point is really neat, about $20. In San Juan we really liked the castles, and walking in old san juan.

 

I cant wait the 273 days to our next cruise. I can only imagine what 714 is like!

[bitofun]

are you aware the beds in 7434 do not go apart

 

I wasn't aware of that, but thanks for the information. Don't think it would change our choice of cabins as I'm hearing awesome things about that cabin.

[bitofun]

We stayed in 7434 on the Glory which is the same room. It is great, you will love it. The balcony is so huge!

 

St. Thomas and San Juan are both great ports to walk around in. In St. Thomas, the Skyride to the top of Paradise Point is really neat, about $20. In San Juan we really liked the castles, and walking in old san juan.

 

I cant wait the 273 days to our next cruise. I can only imagine what 714 is like!

 

Thank you for sharing your information about 7434 on the Glory and activities in St. Thomas and San Juan.

 

Not too worried about the long wait as DH and I have a couple of other trips planned to satisfy, one of which is a week on Marathon Key coming up the second week of October :)

 

Thanks again for the great recommendations.

[2 cruzen]

We are doing this itinerary in 318 days and that seems long for me :eek: planning beach days in HMC and Grand Turk although we may taxi in to Cockburn town since this our 2nd time to GT. San Juan we are planning on taking the free trolley to the forts and then strolling back eating, drinking, and shopping! Haven't figured out St. Thomas yet...would love to do a day sail. Definitely planning some sort of excursion though. Have fun planning!

[lions1995]

so if anyone has recommendations for 1 night stay that has shuttle from airport and shuttle to cruise port, and included breakfast would be a great plus ;).

 

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

 

Pat

 

We stayed at the La Quinta (Miami Airport) a few years ago. They run a shuttle to the port from their. However, you sign up for the shuttel and time when you arrive at the hotel. So if you get in late (like we did) you may have to wait until 1 PM for your shuttle.

 

We ended up taking a taxi foa few bucks. They also had a nice breakfast layout.

[MiamiSpartan]

Wow...It's usually difficult for me to get the time off from work approved 3 months out!

[fireofficer5]

OP, did you start a roll call.:):p

[bitofun]

are you aware the beds in 7434 do not go apart

 

I am curious if you have first hand knowledge of the beds unable to separate in cabin 7434. Everything I read about the cabin on multiple cruise ship review sites states 2 twin bed option and on my cruise manager page I am able to choose 2 twin bedding set up.

 

I inquired to Carnival and received this response: "Your stateroom bedding setup is with two twin beds. No further request needed to accommodate separation of the two."

 

I guess time will tell. :cool:

[sail2sea]

I am curious if you have first hand knowledge of the beds unable to separate in cabin 7434. Everything I read about the cabin on multiple cruise ship review sites states 2 twin bed option and on my cruise manager page I am able to choose 2 twin bedding set up.

 

I inquired to Carnival and received this response: "Your stateroom bedding setup is with two twin beds. No further request needed to accommodate separation of the two."

 

I guess time will tell. :cool:

 

I had this room but not on Conquest. The beds could be separated. The room was ok. Interior was awkward but balcony was large. It had one extra window I believe?

[bitofun]

I had this room but not on Conquest. The beds could be separated. The room was ok. Interior was awkward but balcony was large. It had one extra window I believe?

 

We are so much looking forward to the extra large balcony. Sounds perfect! :)